Artist description Post-punk power pop trio with catchy hooks and psychedelic riffs.

Music Style punk / pop

Musical Influences The Replacements Buffalo Tom The Ramones KISS and Heineken oh yeah and VOLUME

Similar Artists Foo Fighters Goo Goo Dolls Husker Du and noone

Artist History The band formed in 1996, long time friends and cohorts on the music sceneDan Rugburn and Neil Lucey hooked up with the sensational drummer Craig Wilson to hash out some songs for recording. The band has two releases out, their first being an eight song self titled collection of angst and pop, while the second release boasts of a more varied collection of sounds and songs. The band is currently working on the production of their third release that promises more of their radio friendly pop.

Group Members Dan Rugburn - guitar/vocals Neil Lucey - bass/vocals Craig Wilson - drums/more drums

Instruments Strats Tele's and T-Birds and drums

Albums Thinner - Thinner Thinner - Sonic Dinner

Press Reviews Status seekers Thinner get fatter on Sonic Dinner by John O'Neill It was a story that seemed too good to be true. Thinner walked in off the street (with offspring in tow), plopped a compact disc on the counter -- hoping we'd be interested -- and wandered back out toward Route 20. Sixmonths later, they picked up their plaque for Best Local Punk Band (voted so by Wormtown's adoring public), and their mugs graced the Worcester Phoenix cover. Recorded with Boston punk veteran Dave Minehan (ex-Neighborhoods and the man who almost saved Westerberg from mediocrity) at Woolly Mammoth Studios. A natural pick as knob twister with his rock-and-roll pedigree, Sir David also gave the album its unusual title after scribbling Sonic Dinner on a rough mix. "He just puts silly names on rough tapes and sends them: Three Times a Lady, the Westboroughs. We thought Sonic Dinner was perfect," Lucey says. Opening with the loud, snotty, and quick "Lava," Thinner are off to the races with a song that picks up right where their self-titled debut left off. When you get to the next number, "Let It Go," the New Thinner make their first appearance. Still rough and gritty, the song is an example of things to come. "Invited" pulls a Goo Goo Dolls-style bash and pop. "This Time" is their first foray on the acoustic side of the tracks. And "Yellow," with Lucey's excellent Brit-twang vocals and Rugburn's less-is-more guitar solo, reaches back to the '80s to shake hands with the DB's. The real shockers come with "Today" (a rumbling, psychedilia-charged quasi-anthem) and the wide-open-spaces gallop of "John Deere." The band are actually attempting to vocalize with, gulp, sincerity. But that doesn't mean the band have lost their edge. "Blue" still kicks shins with the hardest of them, and "Pretty Thing" is the same three-chord rave-up that first melted our cynical hearts. An already astute band -- you could easily trace the 25-year time line they were riding with the first album -- Thinner are a more complete group by adding nuances and brush strokes that would have been steamrolled by the same threesome a year ago. "We had sessions where we were into experiments. We went in with a lot of ideas, and when we got there the ideas went one way and we went the other," says Rugburn. "There's a lot of atmosphere but it fits together well. I still like standing in front of my amp and hearing that guitar." "Dave's just awesome. He knows how to maximize anyone," adds Lucey, who on "Today" ended up singing through a three-foot hunk of PVC pipe at Minehan's request (that's called trust, folks)."We can't wait to get back in the studio with him again. We've got seven or eight songs that are better than anything we've done. It's the classic story of, now that the finished product is out you're ready to move on." That's a moot point. Last year's winners have left the confines of punk for larger pastures. It's summed up best on "Rippin Pictures," a song that again delves into psychedelic territory by way of Detroit. Still toothy and tuff and, frankly, centered on the same subject matter lyrics-wise, the band have succeeded in mashing all that influence into one three-minute slab of steel. It's smart stuff that still retains a lot of attitude.

Additional Info Photography - Louis Despres

Location Sutton, MA - USA

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